Events

Upcoming Conference…

 

‘Are Catholic Schools worth keeping in
Northern Ireland?’

 

Saturday 12th June 2021, 11am – 1pm

Catholic Schools in Northern Ireland are the focus of great debate.
Do they contribute to social division? Do they really fulfil their purpose in helping parents to hand on the Catholic faith from one generation to the next?

FEATURING TALKS AND Q&A WITH…

Francis Campbell, Peter Finn, Marie Lindsay and Bishop Donal McKeown


 To register free Zoom conference, contact us at ionainstituteni@gmail.com

 

Our Guest Speakers

Professor Francis Campbell is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Notre Dame in Fremantle, Western Australia. He has previously served as Vice-Chancellor of St Mary’s University in London. Francis completed Masters studies at the University of Pennsylvania, USA and the Katholieke Universiteit of Leuven, Belgium.  He has received honorary doctorates from five universities worldwide and is an Honorary Fellow at St Edmund’s College, Cambridge University. In the past, Francis served as Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the Holy See, and as Private Secretary and Adviser to former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Professor Peter Finn KSG was appointed Principal of St Mary’s University College, Belfast on 25th April 2008. He is a member of the Council of GuildHE, the London based group of specialist universities and colleges in the UK and also a member of Academic Council at Queen’s University Belfast. Outside of his work at St Mary’s he has served as a member of the Belfast Education and Library Board and the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) as well as participated in a wide range of government sponsored education groups. He is presently Chairperson of the Members, Edmund Rice Schools Trust (NI). In June 2017, he was conferred the Papal honour of Knight of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St Gregory the Great by Pope Francis.

Marie Lindsay served as principal of St Mary’s College, Derry for 14 years. She joined the staff of St Mary’s in 1985, teaching maths and science. She later became a member of the senior leadership team within the school before becoming principal in 2006. In 2016, Marie was named Principal of the Year at the Foyle Blackboard Awards in 2016 and she was inducted into the Business Excellence Hall of Fame in 2018.

Bishop Donal McKeown is Bishop of the Diocese of Derry, being appointed in 2014. He previously served as auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Down and Connor.  He is the Chairman of the Episcopal Commission for Worship, Pastoral Renewal and Faith Development, Chairman of the Council for Pastoral Renewal and Adult Faith Development, and a Member of the Council for Education.